After third weekly rise, S&P 500 may be at critical juncture

The S&P 500 rose 2.5 percent last week for its third consecutive weekly advance.

According to a stock market checklist from Citi, the bull market is alive and well.

Of the 18 factors tracked by Citi, only 3.5 are flashing sell versus previous bear markets such as 17.5 in 2000 and 13 in 2007.

“The checklist is telling us to buy this dip,” said Robert Buckland, chief global equity strategist at Citi, in a report.

Some technical analysts think that the S&P 500 is at a critical level as it approaches 2,600.

Instinet's Frank Cappelleri noted that the violent swings of recent weeks has subsided as the S&P 500 approached 2,600.

“The most surprising move could be that the last few days developed into a potential bullish flag, and you have another move before there's a decline,” he said.

In contrast, Julian Emanuel, BTIG chief equity and derivatives strategist thinks the level is a “wall of resistance”.

“This is where the bulls and bears come together, and you're going to start to see this tussle,” said Robert Sluymer, a technical analyst at Fundstrat.